posts from this vegan dietitian

Traveling doesn't have to throw a wrench in your healthy eating or exercise routine. Because fueling up with plant based food is my lifestyle, it follows me where ever I go. Likewise, I was still active when I traveled this year. But to be honest, if the hotel didn't have an indoor gym and pool then I would not have been as active - I went to Pennslyvania in January! I am a Floridian!! I found the cold to be a nice change of pace but, I did not stay outside for long. Back to my culinary finds --

I love trying new foods from different places. Already this year, I have been fortunate enough to travel for work twice - as I noted above, I went to PA in January. I also went to Arizona in February. Before I left home, I searched happycow.net for veg-friendly places to eat. I made certain to read the reviews because although a vegan Indian buffet sounds amazing, one reviewer noted that a particular place's buffet was filled with fried foods and I was not looking for "junky" vegan food. I wanted to be fueled up not weighed down.

My first night in Pennsylvania, I was tired and hungry so I went to Whole Foods. I wasn't thrilled to be going there but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the hot bar was totally different than the one at home. 

My second night in PA, I ate dinner with a new friend / co-worker at a small, unassuming restaurant outside of Philly named Carmen's and had a deliciously satisfying Vegan Philly. Pictured below loaded with veggies.

The next day, my boss ordered lunch in from Pat's. I knew she was going to do this at least once during the visit so I called ahead of time to ask about the ingredients in their pizza. They were super nice and made me a plant strong pizza without cheese. There was plenty to share and eat the next day.

If you're wondering about protein. I failed to mentioned that I packed a bunch of almonds that I kept in my purse. And, that first night at Whole Foods, I purchased hummus, vegan yogurt, and unsweetened EdenSoy milk. I kept some at work and some in my hotel refrigerator. I was covered. My boss also treated my new co-worker and I to dinner one night at the Inn behind the Best Western. Again, I new this would happen and I called ahead. I didn't need to call ahead though because they new what "vegan" meant and had a dish [not advertised on the menu] that they offered to make me. 

It wasn't the best thing I'd ever eaten but I was at a mostly Seafood Restaurant. I was just happy that they made me a plant based meal. I enjoyed it and it kept me full until later that night when I had my Whole Foods snacks.

I did not have a rental car when I was in Arizona so I did not get to drive to Whole Foods or Trader Joes; however, I did search on HappyCow again and discovered a local store within walking distance of my hotel. I stocked up on oatmeal and non-dairy milk because I wasn't sure what the breakfast situation was going to be like at my conference. Again, I packed almonds in my luggage. I was delighted to enjoy an abundance of food at the hotel all day long. No soy milk. They were always "out". No big deal. I had some in my room. There was always a salad bar for lunch with a few cold bean salad options. Plus, the chef always created a little something hot for me which was unexpected and nice. They also had a snack hut in the afternoon packed with drinks, nuts, hummus, etc. BUT my favorite meal was out to eat with an old friend at Green New American Restaurant - terribly long name. GREAT food! 100% vegan.

I obviously had their signature burger and ice cream, or tsoynami. It comes in many different varieties. I got a berry one of some sort. Not the healthiest meal but I hadn't had soft serve ice cream in over a decade (never had vegan soft serve) and I have never had a double decker burger (vegan or otherwise). I was due. I didn't eat all the fries and I shared the tsoynami.

I'm not a food stylist so forgive my food pics - previous, present, and future. Here is a "Bowl" -

It is common in veg friendly restaurants to have a Bowl of the Day. I was inspired by the Roasty Soba Bowl from the Post Punk Kitchen. I use Isa's Miso Tahini dressing recipe whenever I make a "Bowl" for dinner and I change up the noodle, legume, and vegetable for variety. I like buckwheat, quinoa, or whole wheat noodles. I use red (they are really orange in color) or green lentils. For vegetables - my family (toddler included!) loves broccoli; I have also used cauliflower, a combination of broccoli and cauliflower, broccoli rabe, a combo of spinach and baby portabellas. Two nights ago, I roasted onions, spinach, and a bag of frozen mixed mushrooms and used it - the bag was either 365 (Whole Foods Brand) or Woodstock (Tunie's Brand). I liked it, but my husband didn't dig the earthiness of the mixed mushroom bag. I'll stick with baby bellas when I want some shrooms.

Why am I in favor of this meal? Well, for many reasons, but I would like to focus my energy on lentils tonight. Lentils require no pre-soaking. They cook in ~20 minutes. They contain protein, iron, zinc, and very little sugar and fat. A standard serving size of any type of lentils is about 1/4 cup of dry beans, which cooks up to approximately 1 cup of soft lentils. One quarter cup of Arrowhead Mills Organic Red Lentils provides 13 grams of protein, 15% of the daily value (DV) for iron, 1 gram of fat, 1 gram of sugar, and 7 grams of fiber. Zinc is not listed on the label because, by law, it doesn't have to be. A few internet searches lead me to conclude that 1 cup of cooked red lentils yields roughly 16% of the DV for zinc. 

And yes, I may be an RD but that doesn't mean that I have memorized the exact amount of mg or grams of every micronutrient in every food known to man. I googled it. :D

A very short note about Zinc from AND. Zinc is present in all organs, tissues and fluids in the body. Zinc has many functions in the body, and is necessary for optimal growth and development, reproduction, appetite, taste ability, and night vision. Zinc is also needed for proper function of the immune system. Full pdf here.

Back to Lentils. As mentioned above, I have used red and green lentils when making this dish. I favor the red lentils. Green lentils are shown in the above picture - you see how they are still in tact? There are actually 3 types of lentils...

Brown lentils - least expensive, they can become mushy when cooked and are typically used in soup.

Green lentils - also called French lentils; these have a nuttier flavor and stay firm when cooked. Best for salads.

Red lentils - my favorite. Fastest cooking :) These lose their shape when cooked. They taste milder and sweeter than green lentils. Used in Indian dals which is something else I enjoy. I have also mixed red lentils in marinara for hidden protein you don't have to chomp. 

I posted this on myfuelup a few weeks ago and now I'm posting it here...

Any way you layer it. I love it. Lasagna.

As you can see, my family likes it too - so much so that I wasn’t able to take a picture before someone dug in.

I don’t follow recipes per se. I just create - sometimes good, sometimes just alright, and sometimes GREAT! - meals. I had a craving for lasagna a few weeks ago and I was determined to make it without too much effort, packed full of antioxidants, and delicious!

I started by pre-heating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and boiling up some water and cooking the noodles according to the package.

While the noodles were cooking I chopped then sauteed some of my favorite vegetables - I’m a vegan and a dietitian so I like most vegetables. For lasagna, I especially enjoy onions, baby portabellas, and spinach (sauteed in that order) but you can really use whatever you want. I did not use oil. I sauteed the veggies in water. You could also use no salt vegetable broth. Again, started with onions, then mushrooms then spinach. Amounts are negotiable. There’s no science to lasagna. It can be whatever you want it to be. I probably cooked them for a good 10 minutes total. Then, I added….

Tofurky and some Marinara. I discover Beyond Meat this week. I like it too.

Above photo from another dinner. Just wanted to show the other faux meat product.

Don’t forget to drain (and rinse) the pasta in a colander and set aside. Set aside the “meat” and veg mixture too. 

Now prepare the “ricotta” -

I put the following in a blender: handful of cashews, 1 package Silken Mori-Nu Tofu (I didn’t have any at the time but I sometimes also add Extra Firm Nasoya Tofu), 1/4 to 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast, a splash of lemon juice, and one clove of garlic. 

Layer it in a 9x13 inch pan- 

Marinara of choice, noodles (it’s okay if they break apart), 1/2 of the “meat” and veggies, 1/2 of the “ricotta”…

more marinara, more noodles, the remainder of the “meat” and veggies, remainder of the “ricotta”, last of the noodles, marinara, and a sprinkling of Daiya cheeze. I wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes with the convection button on. I took the foil off and cooked it for another 10 minutes, then took the lasagna out and let it sit for 10 minutes.